Voters this November will approve or reject I-594, which would require background checks for purchases made at gun shows and through personal transfers. This is another fundraising coup for the alliance, which in recent weeks has pulled in millions of dollars from mega-wealthy locals like Bill Gates, Nick Hanauer and Paul Allen.

Supporters of I-594 see the big dollars as a boon to help getting background checks passed in a popular vote.

“Our coalition of 29 Washington mayors and 45,000 Washington grassroots supporters has been actively advocating for sensible gun laws in Washington for several years and 594 would be a major step in the right direction,” Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland said in a statement.

Everytown for Gun Safety President John Feinblatt said in a statement his group “is proud to support the Yes on 594 campaign, which will keep Washington communities safer and respect Second Amendment rights by making sure that everyone in Washington passes a background check when buying a gun.”

We reached out to Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility; they declined to comment.

About this blog

Politics Northwest is the go-to blog for politics in our region. The blog explores national, state and local political news and issues. Reporters from Washington, D.C., to Seattle City Hall to the state capital in Olympia contribute. Editors are Richard Wagoner and Beth Kaiman.